Feeling Grateful

Our Hunter(7) just completed his first grade year and brought home his report card today. I teared up(SURPRISE) when I read the comments by his teacher and looked over a year full of all E's and 3's (1st grade code for wonderful).

Here's what Mrs. C. had to say:
"Hunter continues to excel in all areas. His story writing is amazing whether it be research based or fiction. His writing voice is developing and makes his writing pieces quite enjoyable to read! It has been a true pleasure to teach Hunter. He is a wonderful boy!"

That last sentence is what got me. It does a mama's heart good to know that his teacher sees him as we do - a wonderful boy. Of course I am thrilled that he does so well in school, but we are most excited about who he is. Every one of his teachers at school and even teachers he doesn't have stop me, and remark on what a good kid he is. His teacher this year has developed Hunter so much, I could never thank her enough. When Hunter started the year he did not enjoy writing very much at all. She used the Writer's Workshop approach and Hunter ate. it. up. - loved it. She did lots of science and projects, Hunter's forte, and encouraged him and challenged him all along the way.

You know I have a hard time with goodbyes. I really hate saying goodbye to Hunter's 1st grade year, but it makes it a little more bearable knowing that in a week we'll be in the Colorado mountains - yippee!!!

I'll sign off with a little note his teacher sent home that I think is worth sharing:

Inside each of you is something very special.

It grows each time you face a fear - Courage.

It grows each time you admit you were wrong - Character.

It grows each time you allow someone else to shine - Humility.

It grows each time you learn something new - Knowledge.

Keep Growing!

I love this boy...

The view out Hunter's window

Hunter got out of school early today b/c of the weather. We got home, ate a snack, okay a small meal, as we watched big fat snowflakes fall. I tried to capture the snowfall on camera, but just couldn't. It was absolutely beautiful. It just snowed and snowed and snowed.

Hunter then said he was going to do his homework up in his room, so that he could go out later. I went to check on him about 15 minutes later and found him at his make shift desk, making the most of his great view. He had music playing and was working away.

I love this kid.

A few of our favorite things...

For Valentines Day, I thought it would be fun to interview the loves of my life. So, this morning, over these donuts, we did just that.

Explain what you think "love" is.
Piper(22 months): "Mine!"
Ella(5): "Love is Jesus coming from our hearts."
Hunter(7): "Love is triple times 'like'."
Scott(40): "An enduring bond b/t two people." (who is this guy?)

What are some of your favorite treats?
P(we helped her a little): "orange juice, mommy's make up, chocolate"
E: "donuts, icecream, spending time praying with God"
H: "family parties, going to cousins house, Wisconsin, donuts, cake"
S: "lemon icebox pie, diet coke"

What is your favorite thing about our family?
P: "Mine!"
E: "That we love each other and we all have Jesus in our hearts."
H: "That we love each other."
S: "That my wife looks like a supermodel as she runs our family with grace and love." (Ok, so he wasn't present for this question, but I'm sure that's what he would have said)

What is your favorite, everyday thing, our family does together?
P: "Mine!"
E: "I like when we take walks together."
H: "I like sitting at the dinner table together."
S: "playing and laughing together"

Pretend you are Oprah and list your Favorite Things.
P: (Ella and I helped her a bit) "laughing, jumping, climbing, singing, copying, dogs, cats, playing under the covers, SHOES!, dresses, looking pretty"
E: "horses, dogs, ponies, hearts, friends, God, mommy, daddy, brother, sister, Mama Linda, Papa Roman, Mandy, Grandma, Papa, all my cousins, earth, that God loves every single one of us, loving, sharing, when Grandma Linda and Papa Roman send us stuff in the mail
H: "Heard Museum, Dinotopia books, Half Priced Books, God, singing, music, African drums, history, writing, sauropods, drawing sauropods, praying, science, my whole family"
S: "my family, reading to the kids, hugging wife, dinner with family, Alabama football, and God" (but not in that order he wanted to clarify, but in some way, Alabama football and God go together in his mind)

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

They're both in red, but one's a Democrat and one's a Republican...

(disclaimer: We here at Room for Grace do not endorse any particular political candidate or party. We realize the power we have to sway the election, and unlike Oprah, have decided to stay uninformed and quiet about our preferences.)

So the other day, Hunter overheard Hillary on Good Morning America, and wanted to know what she was talking about. I'm just glad he asked me and not his Papa. Papa would've been glad to inform him of course, but let's just say his response may not have been completely "fair and balanced".
So, as best I could, I explained the difference b/t Democrats and Republicans. You know, big government vs. limited government, the government solving people's problems vs. the people solving their problems, etc.. I really tried to not interject my own thoughts and opinions, and told him there were good people on both sides, and explained the criticisms that both sides receive.
At the end of my explanation, Hunter declared he was a Republican.

The next morning...

I was pouring myself a cup of coffee when I heard Ella(5) announce: "These are THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE!!!"

Why?

"I can get my breakfast ALL BY MYSELF! I can get the cereal, the bowl and the milk ALL BY MYSELF, with NO HELP!!!"

Less than 60 seconds later, from a horizontal position on the couch, Hunter(7) yells:
"Is anyone going to get me any breakfast???"

Oh, Hunter, I do think you may need to rethink your political affiliation. But then again, this is probably more of a gender issue, now that I think about it.

P. S. I just realized after rereading this post that I have single handedly offended half of the human race and half of the American public. We here at Room for Grace would like to state for the record that we love all people, regardless of their gender, politics, or willingness to get their own Cheerios.

A Good Day

Today was a good day. We woke up to temperatures 25 degrees cooler than the day before. My mom came over to play with Ella and Piper while I took Hunter to have allergy testing done.

Hunter commented on the way to school, after his doctor's appointment, how much fun we'd had together this morning. I had to agree. Sounds strange that we had fun while he got about 40 pricks on his back, but we really did. Turns out he's allergic to quite a bit, and we are to do a 2 week elimination diet where he doesn't eat wheat, corn, milk, oats, or soy. Oh, he's going to love this! Oh, and peanut butter, he's allergic to peanuts - the very food I send EVERYDAY with him to school for lunch. It's not a severe allergy, but I probably shouldn't be feeding it to him on a daily basis.

We picked up Hunter from school and went straight to Madeleine's b-day party at the ice skating rink. Madeliene was born almost exactly 9 months before Hunter. I've watched her grow up along with Hunter, and have shared this parenting journey with her mama, Linda. Scott, me, Linda, and her husband Greg were all friends in Singles Sunday School class, way back when. Way back before we were married, before kids, before our first houses, and then our next houses. To say that we've shared a lot together would be the understatement of the decade. Linda and I talk on the phone several times a week and solve most of the worlds problems each time. Now, if we could only solve our own, maybe we wouldn't have to talk so much!

I kind of had a "moment" seeing Hunter and Madeleine out on the ice, working really hard to not fall! Could it be? Could all this time really have passed? I don't know why, but I distinctly recall, and I have the worst memory, being in the elevator in the hospital, with my little gift in hand, going up to see Linda and Greg, and of course Madeleine right after her birth. I remember being so excited to see her. I remember being glad that I could feel so excited, while still feeling the sting of our two miscarriages. I had no idea at the time, but I was almost 2 weeks pregnant with Hunter that day.

Ella's take away from the day, (remember she just turned 5) "Mommy, I'm going to have my birthday party at THE ICE SKATING RINK!" moment of realization, then, "I mean I'm going to have my eight year old b-day party at THE ICE SKATING RINK. This is going to be hard to remember. Mommy, you have to remember with me!" So, because I have such a bad memory, let's review and record it here...her six year old party- dress up party, seven year old party-THE ZONE, eight year old party-ICE SKATING. I'm glad we have that settled.

All that to say, today was a good day.